'I might as well go to jail'

Roseland's David Snyder ordered to pay $11,250 in child support.

Roseland's David Snyder ordered to pay $11,250 in child support.

November 11, 2005|NANCY J. SULOK

Roseland Town Council member David R. Snyder faces 45 days in the county jail unless he can come up with $11,250 in back child support by Nov. 23. David T. Ready, Circuit Court magistrate in Mishawaka, issued the ruling Wednesday. "I might as well go to jail,'' Snyder said Thursday after learning of the decision. He said he likely will not be able to come up with the money before the court's deadline. He works on commission as a real estate broker, so his income varies from month to month. Ready's decision followed a two-hour contempt-of-court hearing Oct. 24. It was the latest chapter in Snyder's ongoing child support problems. He owes support for two sons, one of whom is disabled, who live in Texas with Snyder's ex-wife, Julianne Mayfield. At the time of their divorce in May 2000, a Texas judge ordered Snyder to pay $1,300 a month, beginning June 1, 2000. He became delinquent immediately. Snyder was arrested in June 2004 for failing to appear at a hearing regarding his delinquent child support. He posted a $2,000 bond, which went toward his debt, in order to be released from jail. During subsequent hearings he was ordered to provide the court with detailed information about his income. In a ruling issued Oct. 12, 2004, Ready noted that Snyder's child support debt had grown to $67,668. The magistrate ordered Snyder to pay his entire Roseland salary ($200 a month) toward the support; to provide the prosecutor's office with a monthly accounting of his prior month's real estate commissions; and to pay 30 percent of the gross amount of each commission within three days of receiving it. At the Oct. 24 hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Machowiak presented evidence that Snyder had failed to comply with the order in several ways, including that he failed to report commissions within the specified three days. Lisa Popielski, an enforcement paralegal in the child support office, testified about several properties that Snyder had failed to list in his monthly accountings. For some of them, Snyder blamed an oversight for failing to report them. Two of the properties were in Roseland and had been sold to Snyder's wife, Dorothy. One had a commission of $1,350, while the other had a commission of $8,900. Snyder testified at the hearing that he had "gifted'' those commissions to his wife. He explained that he had given the money to her to offset the cost of buying the houses. Ready said the documentation from the sale did not support Snyder's "gift,'' and in fact the "gifting'' of his commissions to his wife "is a blatant attempt to avoid paying a portion of the same toward his child support obligation.'' Another issue argued at the hearing was the amount Snyder is obligated to pay toward his support from his real estate commissions. The court had ordered him to pay 30 percent of his gross earnings, but Snyder testified that he was deducting 40 percent of the gross for business expenses and paying 30 percent of the remainder. For his latest payment, in October, Snyder also deducted 33?240-208? for taxes, meaning he paid only 14.6 percent for his child support. Ready said the original order did not allow for any deductions from the gross earnings. Snyder noted Thursday that he will not be able to earn any commissions if he is placed in jail for 45 days. He has hired an attorney in Texas to see if the child support order can be modified to reflect his reduced earnings. Mayfield could not be reached for comment.Staff writer Nancy J. Sulok: nsulok@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6234